Good morning from Berlin, 

The German coalition government does not feel bound by the Spitzenkandidaten system, which provides that the candidate of the party that ranks first gets the presidency of the European Commission. 

Asked by Euractiv, government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit said, “To my knowledge, it is not in the coalition agreement that the lead candidate of the strongest parliamentary group should be nominated.”

This is the second sign in just a few days that Berlin could waive its support for von der Leyen, following the remarks last week by German social democrat Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who said the new majority at the EU level should not include right-wing extremists.

The German Greens and Liberals also told Euractiv that the coalition government’s support is conditional. If von der Leyen is not re-elected, then the German EU Commissioner will come from the Greens, according to the coalition deal.

Reporting from Berlin, Nick Alipour has the story.  

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who belongs to the hard-right European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), is the bone of contention. Von der Leyen has expressed her willingness to work with her and other hardliners who respect the EPP’s red lines.  

In Rome, Meloni said “There is room to build a different majority in the European Parliament” than the traditional between the EPP and EU socialists. 

Meanwhile, Meloni and far-right Marine Le Pen are flirting more and more with the idea of forming one group. For this to happen, a “strong shepherd” will be needed, the Romanian far-right newcomer Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) Vice-President Adrian Axinia told Euractiv.

Euractiv was informed that the discussion is not over whether von der Leyen will receive the support of EU leaders at the Council but whether she will get enough votes in the EU Parliament. 

“It is one thing to have an alliance with Meloni and another thing to have her votes in the EU House”, an EPP source told Euractiv.

Many in Brussels estimate that the EPP’s strategy is to have a steady coalition with the socialists and liberals but look for majorities on the right in case they disagree with specific pieces of legislation.  

“What is clear is that pieces of legislation that passed against the will of the EPP will not pass again against the will of the EPP with a new majority in the next Parliament,” MEP Siegfried Mureșan told Euractiv in March.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to visit Brussels on Tuesday to sign a security pact with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo.

Meanwhile, in an interview with Euractiv, the Ukrainian deputy minister of digital transformation on IT industry development, Oleksandr Bornyakov, laid out his vision for how the country can use defence tech innovation to boost its economy and change modern warfare.

At a meeting on Monday, EU foreign ministers repeated calls on the Georgian government to repeal the controversial ‘foreign agent’ law and are likely to decide on potential measures in June. On the Middle East front, they gave their green light to reactivate the Rafah border mission.

Last but not least, NATO foreign ministers are expected to discuss a support package for Ukraine at length when they meet in Prague on Friday ahead of the alliance’s July summit in Washington, while twenty-four NATO members have pledged to no longer accept restrictions on the use of Western weapons against legitimate targets on Russian territory.

What Malta lacks in size, it has made up for in controversy ahead of the EU elections as its commissioner candidate, the former prime minister, and multiple former and current officials were charged with criminal offences, overshadowing all other aspects of the upcoming vote. Read more.

PARIS

While European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she is willing to work with the EU’s conservative ECR group under certain conditions, the top candidate for the EU election list of France’s right-wing Les Républicains party (LR/EPP), François-Xavier Bellamy, appears to be leaving the door open to talks with the hard right. Read more.

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BERLIN

The mystery of Europe’s new ‘left conservative’ group. The aspirations of Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW), Germany’s rising ‘left-conservative’ party, to form a new group in the European Parliament remain under wraps, as other leftists seem, so far, to keep their distance. Read more.

ROME

With the far right expected to do well in the upcoming European elections, Italian Prime Minister and Fratelli d’Italia leader Giorgia Meloni said she expected the long-standing coalition between the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) and the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) to be challenged. Read more.

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MADRID

Spanish government split over ‘opaque’ billion-heavy military aid to Ukraine. Spain’s decision to send €1.1 billion in military aid to Ukraine has opened a deep rift in the country’s progressive coalition government, with far-left Sumar spokesman Ernest Urtasun criticising Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s majority PSOE party for making the decision in a non-transparent manner.  Read more.

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LISBON

After Spain visit, Zelenskky sets eyes on Brussels, Portugal. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will travel to Portugal on Tuesday to meet his Portuguese counterpart Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, the Portuguese presidency said on Monday, the same day the Ukrainian leader visited Spain. Read more.

BRATISLAVA

Prominent Slovak TV host has show cancelled after warnings of ‘Orbanisation’. Michal Kovačič, one of Slovakia’s leading and most respected political moderators, stated that journalists at the largest Slovak TV station, Markíza, face pressure from both politicians and their own management, leading to the immediate suspension of his TV show.  Read more.

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WARSAW

Protests in Poland after Warsaw Mayor bans religious symbols in city hall. The recent decision by Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski to remove religious symbols from the city hall building has sparked major protests across the country, with opposition PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński accusing the EPP of “destroying religion and people’s faith”.  Read more.

• EU: Foreign Affairs Council in its Defence configuration convenes to discuss support to Ukraine, Rapid Deployment Capacity, PESCO (Permanent Strategic Cooperation) review, and more;
• European Economic Area Council expected to address green transition impact on competitiveness, Russia’s war against
• Ukraine, Georgia and situation in Middle East;
• Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers opening speech at International Peace of Westphalia Prize ceremony, in Münster, Germany; President of France Emmanuel Macron is presented with the award;
• Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič participates in conference to mark 30 years of European Economic Area, entitled “A unique partnership fit for the future”;
• Vice President Vĕra Jourová holds meetings with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, Warner Bros Studios COO Simon Robinson, in Los Angeles, United States;
• Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni hosts Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine Andriy Pyshnyy;
• Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson delivers keynote speech at Ukraine Security Forum “A tipping point for Europe’s security and democracy”;
• Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarčič participates in senior officials’ meeting “Scaling up the humanitarian response to the crises affecting countries of the Sahel and Lake Chad basin regions”;

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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Daniel Eck, Liene Lūsīte, Alice Taylor]